“Montréal n’a jamais cessé d’être fondée / Montreal has never stopped being founded,” wrote Iraqi Jewish author Naim Kattan. Looking at one such moment where Montreal has been refounded yet again, this tour explores the history of Montreal’s Jewish community in the transformative decades of the 1960s and 1970s, focusing in particular on the newly arrived Sephardic immigrants and their impact on the religious, cultural, and institutional landscape of the city. Using the backdrop of the historically Jewish neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges, our visitors are guided through spaces both public and private, going from schools, synagogues, and community organizations to discussing the bustle of multicultural city streets, the fragrant smells of the kitchen, and the unique places where Jewish identity in Quebec is formed.

Au-delà du bagel :Tour Gastronomique

Renowned worldwide for its unique take on Jewish cuisine, Montreal is the birthplace of countless Jewish foods, both iconic and overlooked. Experience the rich and delicious Jewish food culture of Montreal’s Mile End and Plateau neighbourhoods by visiting decades-old food institutions alongside new businesses that are revitalizing the city’s food scene. We’ll also travel to backyards and alleyways to uncover this city’s hidden Jewish food history and taste nearly forgotten delicacies. And of course you’ll get to feast on the classics like smoked meat and bagels, so make sure to bring a healthy appetite! This tour visits non-kosher establishments and does not include gluten-free or vegetarian options.

Tur Malka is the name given to Mount Royal by Montreal's Yiddish poets in the early 20th century. By drawing the name "Tur Malka” (Mountain of the Queen) from the Talmud, these poets claimed one of Montreal's major landmarks and its symbolism as their own. Walking along the tree-lined streets and quiet alleys of the Plateau, visitors will discover poems by several of Montreal’s Jewish poets, from Leonard Cohen to Ida Maze, and explore how Jews in Montreal interpreted the cultural and geographic conditions they faced here. Through the stories of writers, activists, and other idealists, this tour explores the contrasts between Jewish visions for their new home and the realities of life in this city.

The epicentre of Jewish life in Montreal from the turn of the 20th century until the 1950s, today’s Plateau neighbourhood once teemed with tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Learn how they worked, worshipped, and supported one another as they built new lives in Montreal. Our visit uncovers the synagogues, schools, hospitals, and cultural organizations they established and that still leave a mark on Montreal society today. Immerse yourself in the Jewish stories held in the streets and buildings of this vibrant neighbourhood. Please note that the tour ends at the corner of Bagg Street & Clark Street.

A hub of Jewish culture in the 1920s, Mile End was home to cantors and community organizers as well as poets and politicians of all stripes. Mile End has been a centre of the Yiddish language for nearly a century, first with its left-leaning Jewish schools, libraries, and social clubs, and now with dozens of Hasidic synagogues, yeshivas, and storefronts. Our visit travels through the parks, streets, and back lanes of the neighbourhood, tracing the evolution of Montreal’s literary, musical, and culinary culture and exhibiting the diversity of Jewish life in this very diverse neighbourhood. Please note that the tour ends at the corner of Fairmount Avenue & Clark Street.